Group Conflict Theory

The railroad station was forced to fire all black switchmen after a powerful protest of white workers, because during wartime, jobs were no longer determined by race but filled because they were in such need. After the war, some employers went back to the traditional practice of employing individuals based on their race, while others did not. Racism was very costly to employees because they must pay white workers more, and because a limited pool was available to hire. However, another way to look at this incident is that racism was instead, profitable for companies, and the cost to discriminate was less than the profit. The displacement of income was then turned into the responsibility of black workers. The Polya urn theory shows that random drawings of two different colored balls fluctuate …show more content…
Collectively, these same participants formed smaller, collective groups to also limit competition and gain valuable resources. This idea was proven with group conflict theory in which random individuals were assigned to a group, which caused these group members to become hostile to those outside their group. It was only until all groups came together to solve a common goal, where this hostility finally ceased, and ideas of in and out-groups were less prevalent. The problem with cartels is that they are not often formed carefully, the arrangements are often broken, and often members will free-ride off of others, enjoying all the incentives while producing no work. Cartels will usually employ punishment to those who commit any of these acts. This practice occurred in the housing markets where some white neighborhoods were policed to ensure those of color do not come in. These negotiations benefitted the “third-party beneficiary” who rely on white neighbors to remain exclusively white, which included policing brokers and